Catherine Atkinson

The department wants to ensure that all young people receive the education that is right for them. For over a decade now, colleges have been able to apply to directly enrol 14 to 16-year-olds in full time programmes, to enable students who wish it to undertake technical courses as part of a broad and balanced curriculum that includes English, mathematics and science.

To ensure provision is suitable and high quality, a number of criteria are in place. Colleges enrolling 14 to 16-year-olds must have either an Ofsted ‘outstanding’, grade 1, or ‘good’, grade 2, overall effectiveness judgement, have a dedicated space for these young people, and dedicated leadership for them.

The department is clear, in the guidance regarding full-time enrolment of 14 to 16-year-olds in further education (FE) and sixth-form colleges, that colleges should work collaboratively with the appropriate local authorities in order to share information about attendance or absences. Attendance will also form part of Ofsted’s judgement. This guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges-2023-to-2024-academic-year.

14 to 16-year-olds can also attend FE colleges to access alternative provision to give them access to alternative pathways or to help them re-engage in learning. Placements are usually part-time and short-term, with the child being dual-registered at their home school and the FE college. Alternative provision at FE colleges is reviewed as part of an inspection of the home school at which they are registered.

The department has offered all Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs further funding until 31 March 2025 so they can continue providing early years educators with support to improve practice, supporting our mission to break down barriers to opportunity by giving children the best start in life.

The Stronger Practice Hubs Programme launched in 2022 to address the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the youngest children, with a focus on the most disadvantaged areas. The Hubs support early years settings and childminders by sharing effective practice, learning from the best available evidence, and building lasting local networks.

The department is committed to ensuring that every child in an early years setting receives high quality education and care. Evidence shows that this has a positive impact on outcomes in both the short and long term, particularly for the most disadvantaged children.

The Department is progressing plans to designate nine new National River Walks across England, one in each region, to enhance access to nature. This is a priority for us, and we are currently considering several delivery options, as well as reviewing where existing river walks are in place. Further details will be provided in due course.

No one deserves to be held back or treated unfairly because of their disability. We are determined to tackle barriers and work with disabled people to ensure they have equal access to every opportunity.

The Equality Act 2010 protects everyone against discrimination and ensures disabled people have the right to be treated equally. Further, The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal to refuse entry to a disabled person with an assistance dog (with very few exceptions). Access refusals are nearly always against the law.

Where individuals are concerned they have been a victim of discrimination, the Equality Advisory and Support Service is there to provide information and advice and it is important that both the government and businesses address the issue to ensure that assistance dog users feel welcome in society.

The Department does not hold information on the adequacy of IT systems to support specifically the delivery of the Accessible Information Standard. NHS England publishes criteria for how organisations can assess their compliance with the Accessible Information Standard, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/patient-equalities-programme/equality-frameworks-and-information-standards/accessibleinfo/resources/assess-conformance/

The Frontline Digitisation programme is supporting integrated care systems and trusts in England do a baseline level of digital capability, as defined in the Minimum Digital Foundation.

National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.

NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. One of the aims of the review was to strengthen assurance of implementation of the AIS, and a self-assessment framework has been developed to support providers of NHS and social care services to measure their performance against the AIS and develop improvement action plans to address gaps in implementation. The AIS self-assessment framework is designed to enable enhancements around assurance and allows organisations, commissioners, and the Care Quality Commission to judge performance and compliance.

A revised AIS will be published in due course, and in the meantime, NHS England continues to work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using services.

We are determined to rebuild dentistry for the long term.

We will deliver an additional 700,000 urgent dental appointments; reform the dental contract; and introduce supervised toothbrushing for three- to five-year-olds in the most deprived communities.

We are working with the dental sector, including the British Dental Association, to deliver these shared ambitions.

The government is committed to building the homes the country needs while ensuring they are safe from flooding.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 is clear that development should be directed to areas with the lowest risk of flooding. Where no alternative sites are available, permission should only be granted where it can be demonstrated that it will be safe for its lifetime taking account of the vulnerability of its users, without increasing flood risk elsewhere, and, where possible, will reduce flood risk overall.

The use of property level flood protections, such as flood doors, flood barriers and automatic air bricks, should only be considered as part of a wider package of measures to ensure that the development would be safe for its lifetime.

Building regulations set minimum standards for all new dwellings. Statutory guidance to the Building Regulations in Approved Document C promotes the use of flood resilient and resistant construction in flood prone areas, without placing undue costs onto any properties that do not require further flood resilience measures.